A team of Penn State researchers received a grant of $480,000 from the NASA Exoplanets Research Program to search for radio and laser signals from alien civilizations.

The project, led by Pinchen Fan, a doctoral student in astronomy, astrophysics, and astrobiology and under the supervision of her adviser, Jason Wright, professor of astronomy and astrophysics and director of the PSETI Center, received a three-year grant.

“This NASA grant marks a significant milestone for both Penn State and the broader field of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI),” Wright said in a release. “This area of research has been historically underfunded by NASA but is now seeing a resurgence in attention and support. The PSETI Center is uniquely positioned to lead this exploration, thanks to Penn State’s support, NASA’s support, and the dedication of researchers like Pinchen, who will be driving much of this project forward.”

The project will work on developing new technosignature detection techniques, which would help find detectable signs indicating the presence of intelligent civilizations in the universe.

“We will analyze the patterns of humanity’s most powerful deep-space radio transmissions as a baseline for understanding the patterns of a civilization’s transmissions to its own interplanetary probes,” Fan said. “We will use these patterns as a guide to how we might eavesdrop on radio transmissions from other spacefaring civilizations that are not specifically intended for Earth.”

Penn State’s PSETI Center was founded in 2020 and through initiatives like this NASA-funded project, the center allows researchers to explore technosignature detection methods.